Chiwetel Ejiofor to be honoured with The Richard Harris Award at this year's The Moët British Independent Film Awards.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
The Richard Harris Award was introduced in 2002 in honour of Richard Harris and recognises outstanding contribution to British film by an actor. Previous winners have been John Hurt, David Thewlis, Bob Hoskins, Jim Broadbent, Daniel Day-Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Julie Walters and Emma Thompson in 2014.
Ejiofor has enjoyed an acting career that has spanned nearly two decades but he saw his star truly rocket after landing the role of Solomon Northup in the critically acclaimed 12 Years A Slave back in 2014. The movie was based on the memoir of the same name by Northup and saw Ejiofor team up with filmmaker Steve McQueen for the first time.
The movie was met with critical acclaim and Ejiofor was nominated for his first Best Actor Oscar, losing out to Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club.
2015 has been a busy year for the actor as we have seen him star in Z for Zachariah - which performed well on the festival circuit - and The Martian - which was a critical hit and a box office smash.
We will see Ejiofor back on the big screen next year with crime/drama Triple 9 and The Secret in Their Eyes. Triple 9 sees the actor as part of an ensemble cast and will star alongside Kate Winslet, Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie and Aaron Paul. The Secret In Their Eyes sees him work with both Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman for the first time.
Ejiofor will be stepping into the world of the comic book movie next year as he is set to take on the role of Baron Mordo in Marvel's Doctor Strange. This is to be the first new franchise of Phase 3 and sees fellow Brit and 12 Years A Slave co-star, Benedict Cumberbatch, take on the title role.
Scott Derrickson is in the director's chair and filming is already under way on the highly anticipated project.
The Richard Harris Award has gone to many fine actors over the years, and Jared Harris - the son of Richard - spoke about Ejiofor being the latest recipient.
He said: "I am so happy this award is going to Chiwetel. Although the recipients of this award have all been embraced by the establishment, they all came from outside it, fought their way in on the strength of their talent, claimed their place and changed the status quo.
"A journey which describes Chiwetel's career perfectly. His talent is immense, it has brought him deserved worldwide recognition, and he is in his prime! I hope this award inspires British filmmakers to take advantage of him and build films around his talent."
The ceremony will take place on Sunday 6th December at Old Billingsgate.
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